January 26th was a very special day for everyone in our Mandarins Family. We celebrated the grand opening of our brand new home – the Mandarins Music Center! So much planning and effort was spent making our dream of a permanent home come true. Many thanks to those who made this happen.
One part of the celebration was the inaugural performance of the Mandarins Alumni Corps, comprised completely of former members and staff of the brass, percussion, color guard and drum majors! Endless hours of planning and rehearsals were spent by your alum to create this performance to the Mandarins’ standard of excellence. Special kudos to Adam Grant and Miles DaPrato of the percussion section with arrangements by Les Wong and Blair Williams, and also to Kim Wong and Kalei Cablay of the color guard with choreography by Mercedes Trejo and Kim Wong. I had a blast arranging and teaching the outstanding (and hilarious) brass section as we played Phillip Sparke’s “Music For A Festival/Orient Express” – the opener of our 2001 DCI Championship Show in Buffalo.
To all the alum who participated: You Rock! Let’s plan for the next Mandarins Alumni Corps performance. Watch for some announcements soon on the Mandarins Alumni Association Facebook page! We want ALL OF YOU to participate at the next gig. Show your support for OUR organization by joining us.
Dr. Dan Fong
Mandarins Alumni Director
